Speaking-tube



(No Model.)

J. A. KESSEL.

SPEAKING TUBE.

No. 326,568. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

Inventor.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JOHN A. KESSEL, OF BUFFALO, NE\V YORK.

SPEAKING-TUBE.

EPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,568, dated September 22, 1885.

Application filed January 22, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JoHNA. KESSEL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Buifalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Speaking-Tubes, of which the following is a specification.

The objectof this invention is to provide an efficient speakingtube and signal to be used as a means of communication between the occupants of a carriage or other vehicle and the driver, or with persons at a distance or in different parts of a building, all of which will be fully and clearly hereinafter described, shown,and claimed by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing the invention connected to one of the sides of a carriage or a partition in a building. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of the bulbs containing thewhistle anda doubleacting valve. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section through the speaking or mouth piece and bulb and the bulb containing the whistle and valve; and Fig. 4 is a detached view of the valve and spring for operating it.

In said drawings, a represents the mouthpiece of the speaking-tube; a, the bulb to which it is rigidly attached by a screw portion, a, as shown. The bulb a for holding the whistle a, is secured by a short tube, a to the bulb a, and is provided with a screwcap, I), to which the upper or distant bulb, b, is connected by a tube, b which screws into it, or in any other well-known way. The cap I) is made removable, for convenience in getting at the valves, putting the several parts in place, or repairing them. This tube 1) may be made of rubber or other elastic material, if desired, and connected to the parts in any well-known way. The mouth-piece b is connected to the flexible tube (1 by slipping the end of the tube over the neck of the mouthpiece and securing it with a ring, I); or it may be secured with a cord or wire wound around it in any well-kn own way. The whistles are screwed into the bulb, as shown. The bulbs a a are connected to the side of the carriage or partition or wall by means of the plate If and screws 0.

0 represents the valve.

It is connected by a joint, 0 to the shaft or pin 0 passing through the bulb, as shown, and provided with a wheel, 0", having a milled edge, so it can be turned by the fingers easily.

0' represents a spring for holding the valve down against the tube a (See Fig. 4.)

The valves 0 are located one in the bulb a and one in the bulb b, so that one may be used to close the speaking-tube a and the other the tube a, or the whistles a or a. Vhile in their normal condition they are held down by the spring 0', one to the tube a and one to the tube a, as shown by the dotted lines 6 in Fig. 3. The spring 0 is not shown in Fig. 1, as the section-line, being through the center of the valves and bulbs, cuts it off; but the construction of this spring and its connection with the valves is fully and clearly shown in Fig. 4, and the construction of all the valves 0 and the springs c" are precisely the same, and the operation is the same in each.

The distant mouth-piece b when used on a carriage of any kind, should generally be 0011- nected to the bulb Z) by means of a flexible tube, (Z, which may be connected to the bulb Z) in the same manner that the mouthpiece is connected, or in any well-known way.

(1 represents asmall chain or eord,conneeted by a joint or pin, (1 to the flexible tube. The opposite end, after passing over a frictionroller, d", is connected to the valve-wheel c of the bulb b. The whistle a, it will be seen, is made long enough to pass through the side of the carriage or partition, and is connected by a screw, or in any other well-known way.

The operation of the invention is as follows: For instance, a person on the inside of the vehicle wishes to communicate with the driver. The valve-wheel c of the bulb a is turned so as to open communication through the mouthpiece a, which operation brings the valve 0 into the position shown by the dotted lines 0 in Fig. 3, and closes the whistle a. The operator now blows through the mouthpiece a and sounds the whistle a as a signal to the driver,who, in response, lifts the mouthpiece I) into the position shownby the dotted lines e, Fig. 1, or thereabout, which operation draws the chain d and turns the wheel 0, thereby opening communication and closing the whistle a by bringing the valve into the position shown by the dotted lines 6 in the bulb b, when the mouthpiece b and flexible tube (Z aredropped, the valve is forced to its normal position by its spring 0, so as to open the whistle a" and close the tube a The valves are provided with rubber-projecting faces 0 so as to fit and make a close joint. (See Fig. 3

I do not confine myself to the arrangement of the tubes 1) or d, as in many cases they will have to be bent so as to turn corners, and thereby adapt them to the position in which they may be placed. For this purposeI find the flexible tubing answers a good purpose, as it can be bent so as to adapt it to any position required, and the corners where the bends are can be covered with a metal casing to protect them.

lhe object of the flexible tube at and chain d, connecting with the valve-wheel,is that the driver, having only one hand free, can manage both at once, while the other hand holds the reins, as will be readily understood from the drawings and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention- 1. lhe combination of a speaking-tube and alarm-whistle connected to the inside of a carriage, substantially as specified, with a connecting-tube leading to the outside of the vehiele, and an alarm-whistle provided with a valve, and a mouth-piece connected to a flexible tube having a chain or cord, d, connected with the valve, as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of a bulb, (4, having a mouth-piece, a, with a connecting-tube, and a bulb, a, provided with a whistle, a springvalve, a wheel or crank for operating it, and a removable cap, I), substantially as described.

J N O. A. KESSEL. lVitnesses:

JENNIE M. CALDWELL,

Jiiirns SANUS'LER. 

